(Shorthand Versions - Presidency of the Republic)
Our greetings, dear President Xiomara Castro;
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, and other representatives of the nations of our region:
On behalf of its people and Government, Cuba thanks and supports this extraordinary CELAC Summit, due to the seriousness of the issue that summons us.
As the legitimate and only mechanism for dialogue and agreement that brings together the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, we have the responsibility to examine and pronounce ourselves on the serious events of April 5 at the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador.
A few weeks ago, commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, I recalled the common duty to ratify the commitment that no Latin American and Caribbean country would ever use violence against a brother country.
Against that duty and our commitments, last April 5, the violent raid by the Ecuadorian police on the diplomatic compound of Mexico in Quito took place, a hostile and unacceptable act that deserves the most categorical rejection.
I reiterate here Cuba's strong condemnation of this flagrant violation of International Law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the right to asylum.
The images we have observed leave no doubt in this regard:
Mexico's sovereignty was violated.
The physical integrity and dignity of diplomatic personnel was violated.
The use of dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes, the foundation of relations between our nations, was ignored.
The commitment we all endorsed in the Peace Proclamation, to banish forever the use of force, was ignored.
What happened not only has a very negative impact on the bilateral relations between Mexico and Ecuador: it affects all the countries of this region and the international community as a whole.
The violation of International Law and the undermining of the legitimate rights of a State is a grievance to all.
We urge the reinstatement of former Vice President Jorge Glas to his condition prior to the assault on the Mexican Embassy, and to redirect his case in accordance with international law.
Our actions now will depend to a large extent on whether reprehensible acts such as this do not happen again in Latin America and the Caribbean.
To accept or remain silent in the face of the unacceptable behavior of the Government of Ecuador would set a very serious and dangerous precedent.
CELAC and the countries represented in it have the obligation to defend, firmly and without hesitation, International Law, making it absolutely clear that the violation of its principles is not justified under any circumstances.
Respecting International Law is an indispensable condition for guaranteeing peaceful coexistence. It is also a necessary premise for sustaining unity in our diversity. It is a prerequisite for advancing toward the integration that cannot be postponed.
Excellencies, friends, sisters and brothers of Latin America and the Caribbean:
As I expressed a few hours after the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador, I extend my full solidarity to the brotherly Mexican people, to dear President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to Secretary Alicia Bárcena and to the Government of Mexico.
From Cuba, where they are admired and loved for their exemplary and historic respect for the rights of others, their solidarity and their commitment to integration, I reaffirm that: Mexico can count on our firm support in the actions you undertake in the face of this unacceptable breach of international law.
Thank you very much.
(Taken by Granma)